SHINee's Taemin to join military next month

Taemin, a member of K-pop boy band SHINee, will join the military next month to fulfill his mandatory service, his agency said Tuesday. The 27-year-old singer is set to enlist on May 31, according to SM Entertainment. The agency did not elaborate further on the venue and schedule of the enlistment, citing Taemin's wish to enlist in a quiet manner. The SHINee member applied for a position in the Army's military band and has recently been accepted, the agency added. Taemin separately made the

K-popApril 20, 2021

[Today’s K-pop] NU’EST proud to present new LP

NU’EST discussed the group’s second studio album “Romanticize” at a showcase held in Seoul on Monday.   　 It has been a year since the eighth EP “The Nocturne” and almost seven years since first LP “Re:Birth,” and the bandmates admitted that they are stirred up.   　 “My heart has been all pit-a-pat and wouldn’t stop trembling throughout the preparation,” confided JR. Since they put so much time and effort into making

K-popApril 19, 2021

[Exclusive] Blackpink Lisa‘s solo debut expected in June

Lisa of girl group Blackpink is likely to make her solo debut in June. Rumors have been circulating for months that Lisa will be dropping her first solo album this year, and according to industry sources on Monday, the date has been set for June. An official from the group’s label YG Entertainment told the Korea Herald by phone that “Lisa is still working hard (on the album)” but declined to confirm the release date, stating schedules will be announced through an official no

K-popApril 19, 2021

Baekhyun's latest solo album 'Bambi' sells over 1m copies

Baekhyun, a member of K-pop boy band EXO, now has two million-selling solo titles under his belt, his agency said Monday. The singer's third EP, titled "Bambi," sold a total of 1 million copies as of Sunday, 20 days after its release on March 30, according to SM Entertainment. It is his second million-seller album following the previous solo track "Delight" in 2020. Baekhyun has already become the first Korean singer to earn the "million seller" title through bot

K-popApril 19, 2021

Number of peak concurrent viewers on BTS online event surpasses 2.7m: agency

The number of peak simultaneous viewers of the latest online concert streaming event by K-pop group BTS surpassed 2.7 million, the boy band's agency said Sunday. The milestone figure was announced by Big Hit Music one day after "Bang Bang Con 21" -- comprised of some eight hours of back-to-back streaming of past BTS concerts and fan events -- was made available for free on the band's official YouTube channel on Saturday. According to Big Hit, the event also generated enormous buzz on

K-popApril 18, 2021

[Herald Interview] Singer-songwriter Cheeze finds herself with ‘LOSER’

Singer-songwriter Cheeze dropped her latest single “LOSER” on Friday, through which she sings of facing her true self. Since releasing her EP “I can‘t tell you everything” nearly a year ago, Cheeze has found herself walking a path that’s different than any she had before, and with “LOSER” she shares that story. “I have a very whimsical personality, so I often have big mood swings. I sometimes feel like I’m a loser, and at other time

K-popApril 16, 2021

[Today’s K-pop] Enhyphen reveals song list

Enhypen will release its second EP, “Border: Carnival,” April 26, said agency Belief Lab on Friday. 　 It has been five months since the boy band came out with debut album “Border: Day One,” and the new EP has already sold over 400,000 units in the five days since preorders started. 　 The EP consists of six tracks that deal with the bandmates’ feelings about the unfamiliar and dazzling world they faced after their debut. “Drunk-Dazed” is a pop rock numb

K-popApril 16, 2021

[Today’s K-pop] Former Wanna One leader Yoon Jisung set to sing, act

Yoon Jisung talked about how happy he was to be back with his fans at an online media showcase for his second EP, “Temperature of Love,” Thursday. 　 “My heart was aflutter working on the music,” he confided. “I wanted to come out with good songs for my fans, especially since it has been 2 1/2 years.” Throughout it all, he was eager to share his music. 　 “Recording was harder than I thought. It had been a while since I’d sung and it felt awkward ge

K-popApril 15, 2021

BTS hit 'Boy With Luv' breaks 1.2b YouTube views

The music video for the 2019 BTS hit "Boy With Luv (Feat. Halsey)" has earned more than 1.2 billion views on YouTube in another milestone for the K-pop dynamo. "Boy With Luv," the main track for the seven-piece act's sixth EP "Map of the Soul: Persona," hit 1.2 billion views at 9:48 a.m. on Thursday, according to Big Hit Music, the group's agency. The upbeat track, featuring American singer-songwriter Halsey, debuted at No. 8 on Billboard's main singles chart and

K-popApril 15, 2021

[Today’s K-pop] BTS sets record with 10m streams on Oricon

  BTS ranked the highest on Oricon’s weekly streaming chart with “Film Out,” according to the latest tally that came out on Wednesday.  The band’s newest Japanese single amassed over 11.67 million streams last week, becoming its second song with more than 10 million weekly streaming on the chart after last year’s “Dynamite.” This is the first time ever a male artist had two songs with over 10 million weekly streams, according to the Japanese t

K-popApril 14, 2021

BTS member Jimin's 'hanbok' suit up for auction

A traditional Korean outfit that Jimin of BTS wore in a performance will be up for auction, with the bidding price beginning at 5 million won ($4,476), a local auction house said Wednesday. Jimin appeared in the "hanbok," traditional Korean attire, designed by Kim Rieul in the K-pop act's opening stage for "BTS Week" special on NBC's "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" that aired in September. Clad in dark hues of hanbok, the seven-piece act wowed fans with a

K-popApril 14, 2021

Jung Yong-hwa to release Chinese EP in collaboration with JJ Lin, R3hab

South Korean singer-actor Jung Yong-hwa will release a Chinese EP, which includes songs he worked on with Singaporean singer-songwriter JJ Lin and Moroccan-Dutch DJ R3hab, his agency said Wednesday. Titled "Stay in Touch," the four-track album is set for release on June 22, the 31-year-old singer's birthday, according to FNC Entertainment. Ahead of the release, Jung will first drop the single "Checkmake" (R3hab Remix) on Friday. FNC explained R3hab worked on an EDM version

K-popApril 14, 2021

K-pop girl group ITZY set to release EP 'Guess Who' this month

K-pop girl group ITZY is ready to come back with its fourth EP, "Guess Who," later this month, its agency said Wednesday. The album, due out on April 30, includes main track "In the Morning" produced by their label founder and K-pop guru Park Jin-young, according to JYP Entertainment. The six-track EP also includes songs by songwriters who have collaborated with top-notch K-pop acts BTS, TWICE and IU like KASS, danke and earattack, it added. ITZY, consisting of Yeji, Ryuji

K-popApril 14, 2021

[Herald Interview] Why K-pop juggernaut Hybe invested millions into AI sound startup Supertone

In February, Hybe, the new name for megahit K-pop group BTS’ label Big Hit Entertainment, invested a hefty 4 billion won ($3.6 million) in artificial intelligence sound company Supertone. One of the first major moves taken by the K-pop powerhouse since going public in October 2020, the investment shed light on the new possibilities that AI has opened up. Supertone’s technology is about creating hyper-realistic voice that can sing. Simply put, Supertone’s system clones and syn

K-popApril 14, 2021

BTS enters Billboard Hot 100 with new Japanese single

K-pop dynamo BTS has done it again. After making it on the Billboard's main singles chart with its Korean and English songs, the group landed its new Japanese single on the Hot 100. "Film Out," the seven-piece act's Japanese single released on April 2, ranked No. 81 on the Hot 100 chart Billboard announced on Tuesday (US time). The song also topped the Billboard's Digital Song Sales chart and ranked No. 3 and No. 5 on the Billboard Global Excl. US and Billboard Global 200 charts, res

K-popApril 14, 2021

[Today’s K-pop] Kang Daniel compares new album to diary

Kang Daniel talked about his third EP, “Yellow,” at a media conference held in southern Seoul on Tuesday. 　 It had only been two months since his single “Paranoia,” and he explained that the EP had been completed first but was so strong that he’d decided to put out the single first. 　 “(The EP) has been in the planning for a long time and is like a diary that holds things I’ve been wanting to say,” he said. 　 “Yellow” is the third a

K-popApril 13, 2021

BLACKPINK amasses 60m subscribers on YouTube: agency

K-pop girl group BLACKPINK now has more than 60 million subscribers around the world following its YouTube channel, the biggest account based in South Korea and the second largest among global artists, the band's agency said Tuesday. The number of subscribers for the four-piece act's YouTube channel passed the milestone at around 6 a.m. on Tuesday, with cumulative views hitting more than 17 billion, according to YG Entertainment. The group's most-watched videos include the 2018 release "D

K-popApril 13, 2021

[Today’s K-pop] NCT Dream to drop 1st LP in May

NCT Dream will return with its first studio album titled “Hot Sauce” on May 10, its label SM Entertainment announced Monday. 　 The album will consist of ten tracks and will span multiple genres. 　 The subunit of NCT originally debuted as a group of teenagers -- Mark, Renjun, Haechan, Jaemin, Chenle and Jisung. Mark left the team when he turned 20 in 2018, but SM Entertainment has since changed the group’s age requirement, and he will return for the LP. It will be the singer&

K-popApril 12, 2021

BLACKPINK's Rose sets 2 Guinness World Records with solo release

Rose, the main vocalist of K-pop girl group BLACKPINK, has set two Guinness World Records (GWR) titles with her recent debut solo release. The singer, who debuted as a member of the four-piece group in 2016, released her first solo EP "R," featuring songs "On the Ground" and "Gone," in March. "On the Ground," the Korean-New Zealand singer's debut main track, was certified as the most-watched YouTube music video in its first 24 hours of release by a solo

K-popApril 12, 2021

BTS to stream concerts in weekend Bang Bang Con event

Global K-pop dynamite BTS is set to hold "Bang Bang Con 21," the latest in a series of streaming events for fans amid the ongoing pandemic, its management agency said Monday. The online event will be streamed on the seven-piece act's official YouTube channel Bangtan TV starting at 3 p.m. on Saturday, according to Big Hit Music. The show will include clips of past concerts and fan events, including "2015 BTS Live Trilogy: Episode 1. BTS Begins," "BTS 5th Muster [Magic S

K-popApril 12, 2021